Iran’s telecom thrills European investors

Two leading European companies are set to buy stakes in Iran’s biggest cellular operator, Mobile Telecommunication Company (MCI), its head Vahid Sadouqi says.

MCI, better known as Hamrah-e Aval to Iranians, dominates 70% of the telecom market share in the country of 80 million and is listed worth over $4.3 billion on the country’s benchmark Tehran Stock Exchange.

“There is quite a lot of enthusiasm among foreign companies in Iran’s telecom industry. In this regard, we have reached agreements with two European operators which I prefer not to name due to the sensitivity of the situation,” Sadouqi said Tuesday.

The state-run Telecommunication Company of Iran owns 90% of MCI and only 10 of the cellular operator’s shares are public, which have seen dramatic gains in recent years.